


Mother Knows Best.

by mylifeismediocre



Category: Emmerdale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylifeismediocre/pseuds/mylifeismediocre
Summary: Sandra comes to stay and the truth comes out.





	Mother Knows Best.

They’d heard horror stories, and even stayed with Sandra, but nothing could prepare Aaron and Robert for the day the woman came to stay at the mill.

She was lovely towards them, paid for the food shop, put her dirty plates in the dishwasher, kept a close eye on Seb when neither of them were around, and she’d even taken them out for dinner at the pub a few times. And it was nice to see her so caring towards their little family, but they were beginning to wonder why Liv hated seeing her mum so much.

However, Liv had become a slave. Her mum had her bed so she was sleeping uncomfortably on the sofa, was making every meal under the sun for her, cleaned the duvet set every day, did her washing, sorted out her pills and her bank statements, and received nothing but abuse for it. Both Liv and her mum had hidden it from the boys quite well, Sandra not wanting them to see what she was really like, and Liv not wanting them to worry. And the only way Liv was getting through it all was the vodka, falling back into old routines and secrecy.

The teen was slowly forced to cover every inch of her body, out of fear the boys would see the bruises, the cigarette burns, the weight loss. She was covering up the drinking, and the fear, and the pain. Concealing the hurt and putting on a brave face for the sake of their sanity, seeing how both men didn’t seem to mind Sandra being there. To them, she was playing the perfect part, appearing to be the kind, fragile woman they’d last seen completely out of it in the hospital the year previously. And Liv was thankful they’d allowed alcohol back into the house, the older woman enjoying the occasional drink, making it all the while easier for the teen to nick the vodka whenever no one was looking.

Liv was becoming restless, the couch was doing her back in, the emotional and physical abuse she was receiving from her mum was heart-breaking, and the fact that the Dingle’s seemed to think she was better than the girl had made Sandra out to be, making out that she was a bad daughter for over exaggerating her mother’s behaviour, and that maybe Liv should’ve helped her mum more when she needed her. It was pushing the teen down, the alcohol becoming her only support, whilst everyone else just rolled their eyes.

However, there was one night in particular that Aaron almost caught onto the truth. It was around 4am, and he was gasping for a glass of water, so quietly walking down the metal staircase, he headed for the kitchen, sticking a glass under the tap and filling it up as quietly as he could. And just before he was about to go back to bed, he checked on Liv’s sleeping form on the couch, her arm stretched out, a bruise sneaking out from beneath her sleeve, and her brother couldn’t help but drop to his knees beside her, placing the glass down on the coffee table, carefully pulling up his sister’s top to examine the mark.

“What are you doing?” A quiet voice asked, causing the man to jump and turn towards where the sound was coming from, smiling when he saw Robert standing at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Woke up and you weren’t there.”

“I came down to get a glass of water, but Liv’s got a bruise on her arm.” The brunette whispered back, turning to look at his sister’s skin, feeling his husband stand behind him, and Aaron could feel the overprotectiveness radiating off of him. And as he rolled the sleeve back, his breath hitched in the back of his throat at the state of his sister’s arm in front of him.

“Jesus Christ.” Robert breathed, eyes fixed on the bruises, in a shape of a hand, around the girl’s wrist, and other bruises scattered up her arm, her tan skin only just being visible.

The blonde watched his husband slowly let go of his sister, carefully examining the other arm she was supporting her head with, the left wrist just as bruised as the right one, and Aaron could feel the anger bubbling up inside him. Angry that someone had hurt his baby sister, and even angrier that she hadn’t even told him about it. 

“Is everything okay?” Sandra called from the top of the stairs, seemingly ignoring the fact that she could wake her daughter and the baby in the room next door.

“Liv’s covered in bruises.” Aaron replied, glancing up at the woman as he rose from his position on the floor. “They’re hand marks, like someone’s grabbed her, or something.” He added, stroking the stubble across his face, anxiety evident in his eyes, and he could’ve sworn he saw it in his husband’s eyes too.

“Oh, that was my fault. She was about to slip down the stairs, she’d been drinking, so I just grabbed for her wrists to get her back up.” Sandra said calmly, like she didn’t seem to care at all.

“She’d been drinking?” Robert asked.

“Yeah, it was vodka, I think.” Both men looked at each other before glancing back up to the woman.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Aaron asked her, like he was shouting quietly, anger evident in his tone.

“I forgot. Sorry.”

“We’ll talk to Liv in the morning. There’s no point doing it now.” Robert reasoned, accepting the grumble his husband made as an agreement, as the two began to make their way upstairs, and back to bed, bidding a farewell to Sandra as she closed the door behind her.

\---

Liv was not prepared for an interrogation the next morning. Waking up from her slumber, she was surprised to see her mum, Seb, Aaron and Robert already sat around the kitchen table, all eating breakfast. Letting out a yawn, and throwing the blanket off of her, she stood up, and joined them, taking a seat next to her mum.

“We need to have a chat.” Robert announced.

“What about?” The teen asked, shoving a spoon of cornflakes into her mouth, seemingly unaware of the seriousness of the conversation. “Hey, I was eating that!” She shouted as she watched her brother take her bowl away from her.

“Your mum told us last night that you’ve been drinking again.” Aaron said, a tone of sympathy in his voice, and the girl was grateful that he didn’t sound mad, but angry at her mother for sharing that information. Her head turned to look at Sandra, only receiving a shrug in return.

“It was once, okay? Won’t be happening again.” Liv reasoned, trying her best to defend herself in a way where she wouldn’t get in trouble. She was tired of the shouting and the yelling and the blame of things that had nothing to do with her. She was tired of fighting, and she definitely didn’t want to fall out with her brothers. She felt isolated enough.

“We saw the bruises.” Robert announced, and Liv felt relieved that maybe now, her mum would be forced out of the house. She was tired of everything, and turned to glance at the older woman, confused as to why she didn’t seem shocked, or surprised, wondered if she had already made excuses for them.

“Apparently you were so drunk, you almost slipped down the stairs and your mum was forced to help you back up.” Aaron explained, and Liv couldn’t help the laugh escaping her throat, amazed at the excuse. “You think this is funny?” He added, moving his head slightly so he was gazing right into her eyes, right into her soul.

“Absolutely not.” She all but whispered.

“You’re grounded.” Robert said calmly, desperately trying to keep the conversation civil and quiet, not wanting a screaming match to erupt between them. Since her mum had been there, Liv’s behaviour had turned around completely. And he was desperate to not lose the improvement she had made, disappointed in her vulnerability to alcohol, knowing it was something she was struggling to control, but wanting her to be open and honest with them like they’d all promised when she’d got out of prison.

“I’m going for a shower.” Was her only response.

\---

“I’m surprised Sandra hasn’t done your head in by now.” Chas told the boys as she pulled them their pints, smiling at the pair sat on the stools at the bar, in front of her. “She drove me mad when we stayed over there, and Liv told me that that was a good period.” She added, handing them their drinks.

“She’s been amazing, actually. The house has never looked so clean.” Robert joked, taking a sip of his beer.

“And we found out last night that Liv got drunk, and almost slipped down the stairs. She has hand bruises around her wrists where Sandra had to grab her.” Aaron explained, pointing to his arms, trying to demonstrate what he had seen on his sister the night previously.

“She’s been drinking again? Maybe her mum is doing more harm than good, son.”

That statement made the boys glance at one another, that thought not once crossing their minds. Liv has been quieter recently, not going out as much, that they wondered if grounding her was the best punishment for her. They hadn’t even attempted to comfort her, despite how ashamed of herself she looked. And just like they had with Lachlan, they began believing Sandra over Liv herself, something they had promised her they wouldn’t do again.

“Do you reckon something is going on that we don’t know about?” Aaron asked both of them, confusion written all over his face.

“I find the bruises a bit odd. Despite not wanting to worry you, she probably would’ve confided in either of you, or me and Paddy even.” Chas explained, watching her son raise his eyebrows, a slight nod in agreement, getting mad at himself for overlooking his sister’s unusual characteristics. “I’ve heard Sandra can get quite violent after taking her pills, or having some alcohol.”

“So, you’re saying that maybe the bruises were on purpose?” Robert asked.

“I’m not saying anything. But Liv has spent a lot of time alone with Sandra since she’s been down here. And you two have been going out more, knowing Seb has a 24/7 babysitter. Liv could be getting yelled at by her mum right now.”

The theory made sense. Aaron and Robert had just accepted that maybe Sandra had changed. Maybe she was better staying with other people, than when people stayed with her. And Liv was a gobby, defensive teenager. But she was quiet, taking the blame for the things out of control. She was letting her mum walk all over her, and they wondered if that wasn’t even the full story.

“Maybe we should sneak back, and see if anything is going on.” Robert joked, but the look he received from his husband stopped him. “And you think that’s a good idea.” The blonde predicted.

“Absolutely.”

\---

They could hear Sandra the minute they stepped foot onto their driveway. She was yelling, but they couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. And a little glance through the window proved that she was shouting at her daughter. Both men decided to ditch the plan of sneaking back in, and headed straight for the front door, pulling it open as quickly as possible to catch them off guard.

The scene in front of them was something far worse than they envisioned. Liv was sat on the sofa, her screams of pain seemingly muted, as the end of Sandra’s cigarette was pressed against her neck, a few past scars beside it proving that this wasn’t the first time this had happened. And bruises were visible. The shape of hands around the girl’s throat.

Aaron and Robert froze, and so did Liv and Sandra. The woman’s cigarette still pushed against the skin of her daughter. And then it was as if someone hit play, and Aaron ran straight over to his sister, pulling her towards him as he sat beside her on the couch. Robert ran to the freezer, pulling out a packet of peas, throwing them at his husband, who caught them and placed the cold plastic on his sister’s neck.

“Who’s going to tell me what’s going on here then?” The blonde shouted, making his way over to Sandra, raising his eyebrows at her.

“She missed a spot when she was hoovering.” Was the cold response.

“You said you were going to hoover.” Aaron announced confusedly.

“I haven’t done anything! Got my daughter to do it. And you didn’t even have a clue. You claim you care about her, but you’ve been oblivious! I got her to clean and cook and sort shit out and you had no clue. Yes, she has had a drink, but did you really believe that those bruises were an accident? If this is how much you dismiss and neglect my daughter, maybe you should give up custody and-“

“And what? Let her live with you. If this is how YOU treat her, why would we even consider it? We trusted you, we’ve been singing your praises, and this whole time you’ve been treating your own daughter appallingly.” Both Aaron and Liv were shocked at Robert’s sudden outburst. “I want you gone.”

Sandra genuinely looked shocked, arms folded across her chest as her eyes flickered between each person, a laugh escaping her lips, with no humour laced behind it. She looked defeated.

“Fine. I’ll go. But if you think this is the worst of it, you’re even more stupid that I once thought.” And then she headed up the stairs, without a care in the world.

“Liv, we are so sorry.” Aaron softly spoke, pressing his lips to her forehead as she handed him back the frozen peas. He accepted them with a smile, his other hand resting on the back of her head, setting the cold bag down on the coffee table.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s what I expected.” 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Robert asked, shocked to see tears glazing over the teen’s eyes.

“Why didn’t I tell you? Because mum has an excuse for everything, and she got in there first. But it’s mum. She always makes me do everything, it was just weird doing it in my home, not hers.”

“And what does she mean by ‘this isn’t the worst of it’?” Her brother asked as he watched his husband sit down on the coffee table so he could be closer to the siblings.

They both watched Liv pull the corner of her shirt up, bruises and cuts and other cigarette burns littered her stomach, pulling her top back down quickly ashamed. This was never a situation she thought would happen. She was good at hiding things. “Why do you think I needed the vodka?”

Glancing up at Aaron and Robert’s eyes, she was shocked to see the hurt in them, the worry. It reminded her that she lived with people who genuinely cared for her, and wanted the best for her. She wasn’t their slave or an easy target, but rather a kid who was hurting inside. 

“Has your mum always been that abusive?” Aaron asked.

“She has no one. You left. She left Gordon. The woman is known for fucking up and making us move whenever she does. I’m all she has. So she takes everything out on me. She always has done. And when I was younger, I thought it was normal. I thought it was common when I learnt about what happened to you, and everything with da- Gordon. I’d rather she took it out on me than on herself.”

Hearing Liv tell the story reminded her brothers how mature she was. She messed up a lot, but she’s a kid, it’s what they do. But she was forced to grow up fast, just like her brother, and it made Aaron want to bundle her up in bubble wrap and protect her from the world. And Robert wanted to do the same to both of them, his overprotectiveness radiating off of him as strong as the scent of his aftershave.

 

“You know what you need to do?” The blonde asked her.

“What?”

“Open up to us more.”

And just as Robert was going to open his arms for a hug, Sandra came storming back down the stairs with her suitcase, throwing it on the floor as she took in the scene before her.

“Oh how touching.” She sarcastically announced. “But which one of you is driving me to the ferry.”

“You’re getting a taxi.” Aaron coldly spat at his stepmother. She raised her eyebrows at him.

“You see, Liv. You care for your mum and you’d rather stay with people that treat old women like your bother just did? I’m disgusted in you. You are not my daughter anymore. You should be ashamed! You moan about my drinking, and look where you’ve ended up, my dear. Guess we’re more similar than you originally thought.” And with that, she stormed out the house, slamming the door as hard as she could, and the cries of a baby could be heard, causing Robert to curse under his breath, making the siblings laugh.

“As I tend to Sir Seb, you two need to talk about this. And Liv, you really need to open up to us more.” She nodded at him, finding comfort as he leant down to press a kiss to her hair, before running up the stairs, smiling softly as he watched the teen fall into her brother’s arms.

\---

When Robert reached the bottom of the stairs, Seb in his arms, he smiled at his husband who was holding on tightly to Liv who was asleep in his arms.

“She cried herself to sleep, and I cried whilst she was asleep.” Aaron whispered. “How’s the little man?” He asked, waving at the baby who smiled back.

“Hungry. After today, it’s made me realise how much we have to protect our kids.”

“Our kids?” Aaron asked jokingly.

“We’ve got a teenage girl, and a baby boy. We’re asking for trouble.” Robert laughed making his way into the kitchen.

Aaron’s eyes fell back upon his sister, cursing himself for not being there for her. He hated seeing her skin littered with bruises and scars, and he hated, even more, that he hadn’t even noticed. Hadn’t noticed her quietness, believing Sandra was the one cleaning despite knowing Liv did it all when she was in Ireland. He realised that he, and his family, didn’t give Liv enough credit for how strong she truly was.

And thinking back to the last thing Robert said, Aaron smiled.

“Oh yes we are.”


End file.
